ISD students hit national stage for contest

Greg Olson, golson@civitasmedia.com

Published 4:36 am, Monday, March 7, 2016

Photo: Greg Olson | Journal-Courier

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Illinois School for the Deaf students Ian Fraas (from left), Olivia “Libby” Scott and Valerie Eyer will compete in Battle of the Books, a national competition at Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C., in early April. less

Illinois School for the Deaf students Ian Fraas (from left), Olivia “Libby” Scott and Valerie Eyer will compete in Battle of the Books, a national competition at Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C., in ... more

Photo: Greg Olson | Journal-Courier

ISD students hit national stage for contest

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The reading skills of three Illinois School for the Deaf students have landed them in a national competition.

Eighth-grader Olivia “Libby” Scott of Bellwood and eighth-grader Ian Fraas and sixth-grader Valerie Eyer, both of Jacksonville, will compete in Gallaudet University’s fourth annual “Battle of the Books” competition in Washington, D.C., in early April.

The contest is open to deaf students in grades 5 through 8 in the United States. Last fall, ISD formed three teams based on their reading levels. Three to four students were on each team and each student had to read three books assigned by Gallaudet University.

Scott, Fraas and Eyer are members of ISD’s Buff Team.

“The students read each book independently and then collaborated with their teammates to discuss plot and ask each other potential competition questions based on their comprehension of the book,” said Kate Van Valey, an ISD teacher and the Buff Team’s co-chaperone with fellow ISD teacher Nicole Frye.

After reading the books, the teams competed in a preliminary round against 26 other programs for the deaf, using videoconference and videophone technology to connect programs across the country.

ISD’s Buff Team advanced to the playoff round in January, which featured the top 16 teams in America. In the national competition, ISD’s Buff Team will be among the top 8 teams.

For the preliminary and playoff rounds, Scott, Fraas and Eyer read and re-read three novels: “A Wrinkle in Time — The Graphic Novel,” adapted and illustrated by Hope Larson; “Greenglass House” by Kate Milford; and “Weedflower” by Cynthia Kadohata.

For the the national competition, they are reading four books: “The Boy of the Wooden Box: How the Impossible Became Possible … on Schindler’s List” by Leon Leyson; “The Boundless” by Kenneth Oppel; “Stella by Starlight” by Sharon M. Draper; and “Stung” by Bethany Wiggins.

Whether it was the competition or the books themselves, Scott, Fraas and Eyer said they have enjoyed being on the Buff Team.

“I enjoyed competing with other deaf schools and learning new skills, such as figurative language, themes, metaphors and the topics of the books, which talked about bravery and survival,” Scott said.

“I liked the books because they were similar to the “The Hunger Games,” “The Maze Runner” and the “Divergent” series, where humans tried to survive against the odds of nature and people trying to make the humans extinct,” Fraas said.

“I liked “The Boundless” because it was the most fun,” Eyer said. “It is about a boy who went from being poor to rich and was being chased for his family’s gold.”

At the national contest at Gallaudet, the students will provide short, written responses to questions about the novels on white boards; use white boards to answer multiple choice questions; and stand to sign their answers to more in-depth questions.

Scott, Fraas and Eyer “are very deserving with the effort they have put in for the competition,” Van Valey said. “Each of them has a strength that has contributed to the team’s success thus far. They are encouraged to read each book at least twice, but each of these students has read beyond that expectation.”

Fraas and Eyer have participated in the national contest before. This is the third year ISD has taken a reading team to nationals. Two years ago, ISD’s Green Team tied for first and its Blue Team got second by one point. Last year, the Buff Team did not place.

“I think this is a great experience for the students,” said Angie Kuhn, principal of pre-kindergarten through eighth grade at ISD. “I was able to go on the trip to Washington last year. It gave the students a great opportunity to be educated, yet socialize and compete with and against other deaf students.”

Frye added that the contest shows more than the reading comprehension of students.

“For students at this age, to read multiple novels without the support of an adult and to work solely with their teammates, requires a great deal of teamwork, cooperation and dedication that we can be quite proud of,” Frye said.

Greg Olson can be reached at 217-245-6121, ext. 1224, or on Twitter @JCNews_Greg.